Gibson, John

1790 – He was born this year near Conway, when he was nine years old the family was on the point of immigrating to America.

1804 – He was apprenticed to a firm of cabinetmakers, portrait and miniature painters in Liverpool requiring a premium which his father could not give. It was while thus apprenticed that Gibson attracted the notice of William Roscoe, the historian.

1817 - He arrived in Rome in October this year, at a comparatively late age for a first visit. There he immediately experienced the charm and goodness of the true Italian character in the person of Antonio Canova, to whom he had introductions, the Venetian putting not only his experience in art but his purse at the English student's service.

1836 – He was elected R.A. and bequeathed all his property and the contents of his studio to the Royal Academy, where his marbles and casts are open to the public as of 2005.